steffi wishes for wimbledon wildcard

How we’ve missed that forehand!Steffi Graf returned to the site of her great tennis success today when she participated in an exhibition with Andre Agassi, Tim Henman, and Kim Clijsters at Wimbledon. They were asked to show off the new Centre Court — now complete with a retractable roof made of a concertina fabric. (The renovation only took three years to complete!)

More: A picture of the roof, a new Court 2, and product info about Graf’s kit — all after the cut…

The exo allowed the new 1,000-ton structure to prove its worth: rain started pouring three minutes after the stadium had been sealed. The inside stayed dry and perfect for tennis.

Musical chairs: The Court 2 name has moved to a new 4,000-seat slightly sunken structure (3.5 meters into the ground) that will keep views unobstructed for the AELTC’s neighbors in the swanky SW19. The Court Formerly Known As Court 2 — aka the Graveyard of Champions — has now been renamed Court 3, and will be next in line for renovation.

!!!! Graf, whose performance in the 1994 French Open final got TSF hooked on tennis forever, lost her singles set against Clijsters 6-4, but was pleased enough that she is asking for a Wimbledon wildcard. Something tells me she also wants to see how she’ll stack up against the other ladies in these new playing conditions. (Seven titles in outdoor grass is probably harder than seven titles in indoor grass, no?)

Steffi looked good in her adidas kit, as did Kim in her Fila track jacket. We assume that Kim will continue to wear Fila throughout the second leg of her pro career.